Category: Blog

I had a credit at the Loopy Ewe from being a loopy groupie (I won’t tell you how much you have to spend to become one of those, it’s more than I want to admit). I decided that with that $25 I wanted to get something expensive. Something that I wouldn’t normally buy.

Behold the loveliness of Schaefer Andrea in Greenjeans

100% cultivated silk in a generous 1093 yd

It’s fantastic! Enough to do a whole shawl like the Hanami by Melanie Gibbons. Gorgeous!

I havent’ knit one stitch yet today. I have spent about 6 hours on Ravelry though. Trying to get my stash totally listed. I still have to do pictures of each yarn though. A lot of yarns I have pictures for already I just have to go back through all 451 yarns (you read that right, I have 451 different yarns in my stash) and add the photos. Big task.

I won’t even talk about the projects task. Most projects I finished in the past I didn’t photograph. Now, I have to dig through our closets, email all recipients of gifts and ask for photos. No biggy. It will just take me the next year to get it all in there. It’s a fun project to undertake though. The resource that Ravelry is is nearly unbelievable (and rather overwhelming to say the least) and it’s still in it’s Beta phase. Soon, it will be whole & new & so useful it’ll take months to see it all!

My knitting/crocheting goals for the weekend are to first, get caught up on clues 5 & 6 of the Mystery Stole. Second, I would like to finish the back of the Joy cardigan from Rowan 41. I only have 3 inches left until I switch from the lace pattern to the solid crochet pattern. Then it will go even faster!

My Rowan 4 ply Cotton in Opaque arrived today, all the way from the UK. It didn’t take me much time at all to get started working on Joy from Rowan 41.

And here is the start of Joy

I know, I know. I have a lot of projects going on right now. But really, it’s only 3 I am actually working on; the Mystery Stole, the Sahara and now Joy. I got the swatch & all done for the aluminum shaped lace tee but decided that Joy should come first. I have been anxiously awaiting this project and now I can begin!

Okay, I am still having issues posting articles & for some reason a draft wasn’t saved of this one so here I am again, trying to post it all again. Here goes.

Firstly, thank you so much for the prayers & well wishes for George. He was just dehydrated so they hooked up an IV and he was home after just a couple of hours. I will say, he learned his lesson! He’s taken his diet seriously, started to really exercise more actively (2-3 nights of soccer league a week) but for some reason his daily dose of diabetes meds has been the thing he lets slip. And, drinking enough water on weekends. Weekdays, no problem staying hydrated. This bout with dehydration was a mix of a lack of water, meds and eating too much fruit. Yes, fruit is his enemy. Sad, isn’t it? Needless to say, he’s fine now, back at work and we won’t let that happen again. He’s not one to repeat mistakes usually ;o)

On to knitting.

After such a crappy day yesterday I was happily surprised by some gorgeous yarn in the mail (and it has a pattern waiting for it too)

Colourmart 100% silk, Aluminum, DK weight, 150 grams 550 yards

That is the Shaped Lace Tee from Knitting Lingerie Style

Here is my gauge swatch, the bottom half is on 7’s and the top half on 6’s. I like how the gauge on the 6’s looks but he 7’s matches gauge and I will have to wear a cami underneath anyways so I don’t mind it a little drapey.

I haven’t cast on yet but I will soon enough!

I also received my Beadwrangler order of 6/0 beads yesterday for the Sahara sweater neckline, cuffs and hem.

from left to right: Old Ivory Opaque #117, Garnet Lustre Opaque #442, Crystal s/l #120, Red s/l #404, Light Beige Pearl #212

Here they are on the yarn

My favorite is the first on the right, Garnet Lustre Opaque #442. The second on the right, the Light Beige Pearl #212 is my second choice. The picture of the tub is a more accurate color for the beige pearl, farthest on the right.

This sweater is a relatively straightforward knit. I am working down the body just about to start the hip increases. Then the shirt tail hem with beading. I am hoping to just string them & randomly knit them in.

Chart F on the Mystery Stole is next up for today.

(We are now up to 4 times trying to get this posted. Good thing on the second try I selected all and copied it. aaaaaaarrrrrrggggggghhhhhh)

I just had a whole huge post & boom, it’s gone. That has been happening a lot lately on this host. That makes me rather angry but I will just repost the pictures without so much editorial.

Yesterday I went to Michaels and they had new knit bags. I used my 40% coupon on one & here it is!

And there was a sock pouch also, so I got one. It is just what I have been looking for in a sock pouch. No crazy fabrics, ugly colors. Just simple brown with a clip & drawstring. It’s also big enough to hold 2 socks at once with both balls of yarn. I will cast on & take a pic of the project in there soon.

I like them a lot!

Also, I finished the woolease Granny Square blanket. It’s about 36″ by 36″. Just big enough for a baby. It’ll get put away until one comes along that needs it (winkwinknudgenudgeAli).

Once that was done on Saturday night I decided to pick up the Mystery Stole. I got through all of Chart E yesterday and am pretty pleased. It’s a lot of Cat’s Paw so it wasn’t too terribly hard to do. Just a lot of rows. Chart F is more of the same so I am hoping to get it finished today/tonight. I would like to be done with all of clue’s 4 & 5 by Friday so I am all caught up for clue 6.

Oh, I made George take some pics of me in the Bedjacket, not too pleased with the pictures but oh how I love that sweater!

I used a vintage style button that is the shape of a lady’s head with her hair flowing. I will try to get a good picture of it closeup. I love it, very vintage and feminine.
After wearing the sweater most of the day yesterday I will say it needs a good steam blocking in a few places to behave while it’s being worn. Overall, it was a great first day out!

And, one last thing. Please pray or send your good thoughts our way today. George just checked himself into the ER with high blood sugar (hovering around 400 for those of you in the know) and his insulin just isn’t bringing it down. I have a feeling it’s just a matter of dehydration. They will hook him up to an IV and get him all wet again. They will also drill into his head the importance of overhydrating. I actually don’t think he could ever be overhydrated with the meds he’s on & his diabetes. He very rarely even needs to take his insulin. Diet & exercise have taken care of it. But this past week I think he just slowly became dehydrated. I will start riding him again & make sure he’s being a good boy drinking his H2o.

The theme for the Mystery Stole 3 is Swan Lake. One of my favorite ballets. Okay, I only have seen a few ballets and most of them on PBS but it’s really a beautifully tragic story. So there you have it.

I have been not so happy with what I have been knitting over the past few days after finishing the Bedjacket. So I thought I would pick up some crochet until I found inspiration to return to the Mystery Stole. I dug through projects already going and found the Lion Brand Granny Square blanket I started ages ago & put away. I am hoping to just finish the thing off in the next few days and move right back into the MS.

I also got a package of sock yarns from The Loopy Ewe.

From left to right:

Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome in Green Mtn Madness

sKnitches Syncopation in Collegiate

Louet Gems Sport in Pewter

Gypsyknits BFL superwash in Knit On

Who knows what will eventually happen with these yarns. Winter is usually my sock knitting time of the year (opposite of everyone else, I know) but there could be some cute baby stuff too. It is too bad I don’t have any babies to knit for at this point.

Now, off to crochet the blanket!

Using only manual lens focus and natural light I took a bunch of pictures of the 99.9% complete Bedjacket.

Now I am just waiting for them to be transferred onto the computer so I can post them online. I have a feeling they are all in RAW format which means I will need to compress them before posting them. Hopefully they are in FINE but we’ll just have to wait & see after they are transferred.

So while we are waiting I will tell you what I have been up to. I started the Sahara sweater from StitchDiva using Cotton Fleece (no real surprise there) in red. I purchased a bunch of different size 6/0 beads from the Beadwrangler today to use on the collar & cuffs. In the pattern they use the Tilli Tomas yarns that are prestrung with beads, sequins, rocks. I love it but I am just not willing to pay for it. I can do it myself thankyouverymuch.

Okay, the pictures transferred so here are a few. Sorry if they are huge, I have no choice at this point ;o)

I haven’t put the final crochet edging around all the edgings and I still have a button to put on the front where they meet.

And here is the start of the Sahara sweater

wow that is a nice picture!

So that is what I am working on at the moment. I am planning to work on the Mystery Stole I have just been too depressed to do anything but mindless knitting. Maybe next week or over the weekend I can get caught up on Clue 4.  Until then, more fun stockinette! Maybe I will cast on some new socks. My dpn’s are calling me, I haven’t knit a sock on a dpn in probably 8 months or so ;o) It’s time.

So it’s tempting to put together a run-on sentence of swear words to describe the disappointment and utter sickness the next few sentences make me feel.

I got my new camera Friday.

My kids thought I was posessed and kept asking me to make that scary laughing sound again.

I took about 100 pictures.

My new camera died.

A slow, horrible death.

First I got a simple enough warning with a beep telling me to stop that or else.

Next, it wouldn’t stop trying to autofocus.

Next, it kept changing shutter speed.

Next, it stopped letting me get into menus and stopped showing me the picture preview.

Mind, it was taking pictures all the while.

So, my brain is screaming at me, I read the manual. Front to back. I do all I can do (remember I can’t get into menus). I take both batteries and charge them overnight Friday night.

Saturday morning I put a battery in & all I can do is manually focus to take pictures. But I can’t view the pictures or change any settings other than the focus.

I email the seller.

He says he never had that problem, I believe him (don’t tell me I am naive ok? I have had much contact with him and believe he is on the up & up. If you know me, you know I am a half empty kinda girl so he’s gotta be trustworthy if I haven’t jumped down his throat yet).

So for the last 3 days I have been sick to my stomach thinking I just wasted a whole lot of money. The seller is ocmmunicating with me still but is feeling like I am the one trying to pull the wool over his eyes to get my money back (possibly switching cameras & pulling a fast one on him, talk about pessimistic).

So tomorrow I take the camera into a shop we agreed on here in SB to have it looked at.

What the F am I supposed to do? He sent it, it worked. For about 2 hours, then it stopped working. And, it’s not a minor malfunction. I have a feeling it’s toast.

George was mad because I don’t just go to a store & buy something. I always do it all on the computer, buy it used for a good deal, yadayadayada…

He got over that once I cried for hours on end.

Now to move forward. I could possibly go to Ebay if it ends up not being resolved between the seller & myself. For the amount I spent I do believe I will have to pursue it.

For now, you wanna see the few pics I did get while it did work?

Well I would love to show you but I can’t.

So for now, take me as a really grumpy bitch.

But I am on the last piece of the Bedjacket from Knitting Lingerie Style using Cotton Fleece. It’s been a relatively fast knit only becuase it’s 9 separate pieces. The seaming is going to be a major process & who knows if I will do it right away or if it will get put away until my patience level has returned to normal.

Tomorrow I go back to working on the Mystery Stole. I am on Clue 4 and Clue 5 comes out Friday so I want to have it done. No high hopes on that one. Actually I have no high hopes for anything right now.

Unfortunately for my students, I have to finish the entrelac class tomorrow night and I so do not feel like being around people. Angry, snappy, not nice chauntel has entered the building. Hopefully she’ll be gone soon enough.

So, on that happy note, have a great Tuesday!

Take a look at the time I am posting this……

I just spent 3 hours, 11 minutes and 33 seconds on the phone with my big sis Cori.

Now realize that she lives in Kansas so she’s 2 hours ahead of me, it’s 4:51am right now for her. We must love eachother a lot, have a lot in common or just be jabberjaws to talk through to the wee hours of morning.

All I have to say is that I am thankful that God put her & I together, we make great sisters!

Love you Cor! Have a safe trip to South Dakota, enjoy the vacation! Good luck teaching yourself to knit. And, if you can get through Mom teasing you about being an old lady knitting, even more power to you!
And don’t expect any help from her either, she’ll just snicker at you.

I got a ‘surprise’ in the mail today! A package from Ali~ now if I only had a camera to take pictures of it, that you will have to wait for all the details, words can’t describe it!

Hopefully the camera will be here today or tomorrow. Yippeee for stuff in the mail!!!

http://www.interweaveknits.com/

The Preview for Fall ’07 Interweave Knits is up & I love Eunny. That is all I can say. IK has always been a great magazine but since Eunny has been editor you can see the design/editing staff has been on a roll!

There are so many to choose from I can’t pick just one. Colorwork, cables, lace, directional knitting; it’s all in there! Gorgeous just gorgeous!

ps my Noro Silk Garden that I ordered from Discount Yarn Sale on 4/5/07 just got here yesterday, 7/25/07. Nice. Almost 4 months in delivery, that has to be some kind of f*ed up record. But I have my yarn now so I can decide if it’s meant for the granny square blanket or if I want a sweater ;o) I may have to wait to decide until after I get my new IK.